To Mum
by CBloom2
Summary: I needed another scene with our boys last night - so here it is!


**Hey guys - how good were the Ethan/Cal scenes last night? The guys play so well off each other.**

 **As much as I loved it, I wanted just one more scene with the brothers especially after what Cal did for the dying woman - so touching - so of course, fan fic head came on!**

 **So here is my little offering. As usual I don't own anyone that you recognise from the show.**

 **To Mum**

"I miss mum," Ethan heard his brother whisper over his shoulder.

Ethan nodded - his throat tight. Although it had been someone else's mother who had passed away in front of them, for all intents and purposes, it could've been their mum.

Witnessing Cal sitting on the bed, pretending to be her other son, who couldn't bear to see his mother passing, holding her hand, telling her gently that he was there, that it would be alright, took him right back to the day that their own mother had left this world.

It had been Ethan's first day in the ED, so he had been extremely busy. They had called him when it had seemed that she didn't have long left. He had dashed over to the hospice, only to find out that he had been to late, "But don't worry, she wasn't alone, your brother was with her."

Ethan had been very irritated by Cal's sudden appearance, after spending weeks trying to convince his wayward older brother to see her, but he had been happy that she hadn't been on her own. And now, having just watched his brother being so caring and compassionate, he couldn't help but wonder if that had been the scene in their mother's room.

Before he could say anything else, Ethan became aware that his brother had left the room, " Do you want to go after him?" Lily enquired, knowing how close to home this case had been for the two young doctors. Ethan smiled and shook his head slightly, trying to look anywhere but at the grieving young man before him, "No, it's fine, thank you. I'll catch him later..." he swallowed a huge lump that had appeared in his throat, "Er, but I do need...to sort out...some paperwork..." he was having difficulty keeping the emotion out of his voice. Lily laid a gently hand on his arm, "It's alright Ethan, I've got this - I'll sort everything out."

Ethan had never felt more relieved and grateful in his life, "Oh thank you Lily."

He passed her the clipboard, then turned towards Jerome, who was now sat still in the chair, silent tears streaming down his face, "Jermome, I'm very sorry for your loss and for what it's worth, I wish you could've gone on your trip."

The grieving young man looked up at him, tears swimming in his eyes, "Thank you for everything you and the other doctor did," he said sincerely. Ethan ducked his head, then with one last glance at Lily, he made his way out of the room.

A couple of hours later, Ethan was changed and ready to leave, but was a little concerned that he hadn't seen much of Cal since the death of Jerome's mother. He noticed his brother speaking with Dylan, then the acting Clinical Lead gave a speech about how well everyone had done - he even gave them some money for the pub! As everyone started to get their things together, Ethan pushed his way through the throng to his brother, "You going to the pub?"

He couldn't help but smile at Cal's stunned expression, "You're joking aren't you? Does the sun rise in the morning?"

"I'll see you there then," Ethan chuckled, ignoring the shocked look on his brother's face. He couldn't explain why, but he really wanted to stay in his brother's company that night.

"Yeah, ok. Give me fifteen minutes," Cal replied.

Ethan had already bought a round of drinks...for everybody, by the time the noisy group arrived. Normally he would go home after such a challenging day, but not this day - today he needed to be around Cal.

After everyone had got their drinks, thanking Ethan as they went their separate ways, Ethan noticed Cal glancing his way. Ethan's stomach sunk. Cal was going to have one of those nights where he was going to ignore his brother and make him wish that he wasn't there. Cal said something to Robyn then drifted over to where he was sitting, "You ok?" he asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Ethan told him, smiling, glad when Cal joined him.

"It's been a tough day," the older man lamented.

Ethan nodded, "It has, but you made it a little easier for the family," he remined him. Cal said nothing. He just stared into his drink.

Ethan saw the pained frown on his brother's forehead, and while he didn't want to add to the pain, he just had to know, "Caleb, can I ask you something?"

Cal sighed deeply, almost as if he knew that this was coming, "You want to know if it was like that with mum?"

Ethan swallowed nervously, "Well was it?"

Cal took a long drink of his beer, "I suppose it was in many ways. She didn't say much. She knew I was there - she smiled when she heard my voice. She held my hand...I can still feel her hand in mine sometimes - then she drifted away peacefully..."

Ethan dropped his head slightly, to cover up the fact that tears were starting to leak from his eyes.

"Ethan..." Cal had noticed. The younger man heard his brother finish his drink, "I'm going to get us another...on Dylan," he chuckled as he left his seat.

Ethan knew that Cal had left him to get himself back together, but he was finding it quite difficult. He dried his tears, then fresh tears would spring up to replace them.

A couple of minutes later, Cal returned with a couple of whiskeys. He placed one in front of Ethan, who, quite out of character, downed it in one gulp, "I always felt guilty you know...not being there when she passed. I had spent so much time with her and yet the one moment when I should've been there, I wasn't - I couldn't get there in time. When I found out that you were there, I hated you for a few minutes. Typical you, I thought, gracing us with your presense at the last minute and being the fantastic son who was there at the end..." Ethan found that he was breathing quite hard now, "But when I took a minute to think about it properly, I was just so glad that one of us was there."

Cal smiled sadly, "I know I said that she didn't say much, but one of the things she did say was that you would do that. She knew that you would blame yourself and feel guilty for not being there. She told me to make sure that didn't happen. She was so grateful for everything that you had done for her, as am I. I was completely useless, I know, and I thank God that she had you, other wise she would have had nothing."

"Thanks for that. You know, what you did for that family today was amazing. Please don't think this as condesending, but I was so proud of you. You were so caring and compassionate with them. I was still so fixated about the clinical side of things, but you...you knew what they needed, even down to her bioligical son. You didn't judge any of them - you just acted."

"I recognised him..." Cal began.

"Who? The son? What do you mean?" Ethan looked confused.

"He couldn't cope. He wasn't strong enough to cope with what was happening to his mother, which is why he hadn't seen her for a while. He was weak...just like me..."

"Cal..."

"No Ethan, it's true. Thinking back over the years - with everything that's happened to us...to me...you've always been the stronger one - I just couldn't cope when things got rough. As you well know, I bottled it - ran away. You were always the one who sorted everything out and then welcomed me back in when I inevitably came crawling back."

Ethan was surprised to see tears shining in the eyes of his brother. He leaned forward, gently tapping his brother's arm, "I always will," he whispered.

Cal laughed tearfully, "That's why we are such a good team," he said as he wiped the tears away.

Ethan rolled his eyes, "I suppose we are," he grudgingly agreed.

By this time, another drink had been placed in front of them, courtesy of Dylan. Both brothers picked their drinks up, "To Mum," Ethan said as he lifted his glass. Cal lifted his own towards his brothers, "To Mum," he agreed.

 **So there you have it. One little oneshot. Hope you liked it.**

 **Til we meet again.**


End file.
